New Delhi: India skipper Virat Kohli applauded the efforts of Mohammed Shami (56 not out) and Jasprit Bumrah (34 not out), who stitched an unbeaten 89-run partnership for the ninth wicket in the second innings and played a pivotal role in the visitor’s stunning victory over England in the second Test at Lord’s here on Monday.Courtesy of the stand between Shami and Bumrah, India set England a challenging target of 272, which the home team fell short badly. The pace quartet of Shami, Bumrah, Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Siraj destroyed the England line-up in the final innings, bowling out the host for a paltry 121 to help India win by a mammoth 151 runs.
We need to applaud what Shami and Bumrah did. It takes a lot of character and heart to play under those circumstances. As bowlers, they don’t get to bat much. They just put their hand up for the team when we needed it the most. It is something that we are really proud of and we want to let them know, Kohli said after India took an emphatic 1-0 lead in the five-game series.
They were charged up. Both took the new ball and got us breakthroughs as well, which were very crucial for us, added Kohli. When the final day started, England had the upper hand and looked good to go 1-0 up. But, tail-enders Shami and Bumrah turned things in India’s favour when they batted.
When we were the most successful team in Test cricket for a year and a half, our lower-order contributed big time. That is something we went away from, when we played abroad ahead of this series. So, that was one area we focussed. The batting coach has worked really hard with the boys, who are also putting in the hard work, said Kohli.
When they walk out to bat, they believe that they can stay there and get runs for the team. I think that the belief was missing earlier. We know how priceless those runs are and they proved to be the case even in this match, explained Kohli.